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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Famous sociopaths: Mitt Romney?

I was reading a profile about Mitt Romney in the New Yorker. One of the themes was how he doesn't seem to have principles or emotions but how he defines himself as being just an efficiency machine? Or that's sort of what I got from it:

Private equity is business on steroids: seek efficiency and economic return, not large social goals (unless you think those are large social goals).

“Most religions come to believe in the Zeus model of God. He was outside the universe and created everything. Latter-Day Saints believe that God is in the universe and his power comes from understanding the rules of the universe perfectly. Everything we learn makes us more like God. The impetus to learn is so strong because it helps us to become more like God.”

Kim Clark says that Romney was “very smart, but also great with senior executives, really capable of developing relationships with them. You have to be really good on your feet, good at understanding what people’s concerns are and how they think.”

"Mitt is so persuasive. He could get rich selling used bubble gum.

Romney has done a lot of meeting and a lot of selling during his rise in business and politics, but mainly indoors, in small groups of peers. He’s as adept in that setting as he is unnatural talking to a big crowd. Unlike most candidates, he did not communicate a sense either of being too restless to give you his full attention or of having to establish that he is the alpha and you the beta. He was direct and pleasant and engaged. His voice sounded husky, rather than flat. His gestures seemed spontaneous, not staged.

“Value, in the way I’ve defined it, is the score that shows up on the scoreboard,” he said. “It’s not the objective. It’s not the strategy.

“Mitt Romney has the facial expressions of someone who cares about me.”Moments after the debate, Mr. Romney pronounced himself “thoroughly drained” by the forced display of humanity.“This empathy stuff is exhausting,” he told reporters. “On Day One, it’s going to stop.”

I actually don't think that Romney is a sociopath, although it's possible. I do think it's funny that people seem to value people who have empathy -- would rather have those people in stressful situations making emotional decisions rather than a sociopath? Or maybe people are actually aware and ok with the fact that politicians tend to be more sociopathic than non?

My family is littered with sociopaths. My stepfather (who murdered two people) was one. My brother is one and my sister's ex-husband is one. Believe me, Mitt Romney is not a sociopath. You are using very superficial anecdotal evidence to make to make a case for discrediting Romney.You generally cannot tell from the outside who is a sociopath and who isn't unless you live with them or work with them. And if you do either you will at some point be a victim or you will at least see the wreckage they make of everyone's lives around them. George Soros (the money behind most Obama operatives) is much more likely a sociopath than Romney.

He may be more a pure narcissist than an outright sociopath. He can conform his behavior to social expectations. He is capable of charity (if only to get someone out of the way). He can apparently feel.

Suspect methods of business? Sure -- but they are perfectly lawful. He doesn't do embezzlement, sexual harassment, or insider trading.

If you are trying to convince us Romney is a sociopath based off of that, you're doing a piss poor job. Watch a few minutes of MSNBC and you could have even made yourself look passably clever with far more convincing "evidence"

A sociopath politician doesn't worry me nearly as much as the religious-zealot/corporate-whore paradox chimera that backs him.

If Alia is from where I suspect then she is at the usual age for where she is in her medical career. I was room mates with a med student at one time so have a passing familiarity with their procedures.

Thanks Ell, but now this wacky internet connection times me out when I try to get to LJ and I don't have your email (can't get to the forum to see it either), going to try a free WiFi I was told about this morning if I can just get to the building.

Yea, I don't tend to dwell on the political shit either... two sides of the same coin. And you are right, I imagine most countries are the same for the biggest part. Just so tired of these campaigns. Sick of hearing all their voices and seeing all their faces. "Clowns", all of them... and not the "good" kind of clowns either:o)

Sleep was okay, but not as good as I would have hoped. Yesterday during the day I took a 3 hour nap (I sleep alot better in the daytime for some reason, maybe taking methadone and xanax has to do with it) and I watched the debate and "Vegas Strip" (Basically like the show cops they are just on the Vegas strip) and I ended up going to bed around 12:30 and I wake up at 5am everyday to go to the clinic, but last night was okay, I woke up a couple times but went right back to sleep.

I feel like I may be getting sick....... I dont know if it has something to do with withdrawal, because I was taking an extra pill at night every night to sleep for the first 10 days and I was gonna stop taking the night pill but I slept so badly, so now I take a quarter of one before bedtime......

The good thing about last night was that I didnt have any crazy dreams, for some reason I had been having them almost every night and they are VERY vivid, but last night I didnt have any.

I too have issues with getting the "recommended" amout of sleep but I atribute most of that from the operational tempo of my career choice... sleep is a cruch according to the Copr's infantry community (as well as food, water, stc...). I go to bed around mid noght usually and am up at 5 or 5:15 every morning without the aid of an alarm clock. And I almost never dream or at least remember them.

Are there any standard "crazy" dreams you have? Like a reoccurring theme? Do they evoke any certain "feelings" when you wake?

Virus- LOL! Spelling is no problem! I understood everything you wrote ;)

I sleep about the same amount of time as you do, but I frequently wake up during the night, usually I fall right back to sleep though.

I had been having REALLY VIVID dreams even the second night after not drinking........ I never have any similar or "reoccuring" dreams though, every dream is usually different in some way...... Sometimes the same people will be in the dreams, but the dreams are always different.......

The other night I had a terrifying dream where I was carjacked (LOL and I dont even own a car) in an old two seater car...... I pulled up to a convienence store in a very bad neighborhood, and there were alot of people hanging out in front of the place, but I went inside and weirdly enough, there were people sleeping on the floor in the store (I know, some of my dreams make NO SENSE but they seem so real and like nothing is wrong and completely normal when Iam dreaming them). I went up to the counter, bought some "dipping tobacco" (skoal) and had a friend with me in the car that I hadnt seen for years, well on the way out of the store two guys started following me and I got into the car (convertable) and they ended up hopping in and trying to take the keys, I also had a car parked behind me because the parking lot was small, so when the guy hopped into the car I gunned it into reverse and just hit the car behind me so I could try to get out of the way, than they pulled a gun and I gave the car over........ I was alone (my friend had dissappeared at that point) and I had to find my way home on foot, I remember that I was about 15-20 miles away from my house and the rest of the dream was me walking trying to get home, and I woke up before I could make it home....... My heart was beating really fast, like palpitations from the fear, but when I woke up I was SO HAPPY that it wasnt real, I felt safe but the dream was literally SO VIVID it seemed like reality........

Once you get back to reality and wake up it is such a relief though!!!!

PS- When you actually do have dreams, if ever, do you ever dream of being back in a warzone? I would think that if I went through that I would probably have alot of nightmares about it, like flashbacks and stuff.

Dreams very rarely make sense in a literal context, one time I had the Kool Aid guy and Grimace from the McDonald land characters wrestling in a hot tub full of gorgeous women I was trying to get busy with. That was after taking some anti-malaria crap years ago. We had to take this shit every Monday. We started calling it Madness Mondays because of all the weird dreams everyone was having.

My dreams are usually arbitray and mundane when I do remember them. Like walking the dog (I don't own one) or taking something to the post office... nothing out of the ordinary. However, when I do dream they are usually lucid and I can interact anyway I want, as long as I don't "push it" too hard. For instance, if I go to the mail counter and there happens to be a sexy woman I might try and seduce her on the mail room floor in front of everyone. As long as I don't "think about it" too hard, just kind of let it flow, it will happen. But, if I get to eager and just "go for it"... I wake up every time. Maybe that's like life.

Do you see anything about your car jacking dream that might correlate with your current life situation?

That is interesting about "madness mondays" I hear that Nicotine can give you some crazy dreams too (if you can sleep when your on it) and maybe that has been what has been giving me crazy dreams for the last week or so because I took up dipping skoal again just for now to calm me down during this withdrawal period, because I have to start coming off xanax too.

The only thing about that dream that correlated with my current situation was stopping in the store to buy skoal, besides that, none of it made any sense. I dont have a car, havent seen the person I was with in the dream for years, and I was in an unfamiliar neighborhood....... So it was just a strange dream I guess.......

LOL @ your dream of the Kool-Aid man and Grimace in a hot tub full of hot women! Those are the type of dreams I have, things that would NEVER make sense in real life but seem to make perfect sense in the dream though, that is the strange part for me.

Sometimes I will also wake up from my dreams in the way you describe, but for me that rarely happens..... As a matter of fact I really didnt have many/any dreams when I would drink alot of alcohol and smoke weed at night, maybe its because I was in such a deep sleep, they say when you dream it means your sleep isint that deep...... I have only started having these really vivid andlifelike dreams since I havent been smoking weed or drinking, once I stopped the drinking is when they REALLY STARTED happening, I even had a vivid dream that night I had to spend in the hospital. I guess it is easier to dream when you arent drinking and smoking, at least for me, because now they seem alot more frequent and lifelike.

Yes, yes. One monday, after taking the mefloquin, I had a very vivid dream I was being pulled paragliding behind the ship I WAS on (USS Saipan). Then the ship got caught in a whirlpool and I had to let go in the middle of the ocean to fin for myself, LOL! Crazy.

Rich, what jumped out at me about your dream was your long never ending walk home. You are on a long journey "friend".

Some say dreams are nothing more than our brains pulling bits and pieces of our lives or things we may have seen, discussed, or done and creating little "movies" to entertain us during the boring times of sleep. Of course their are those who believe dreams are the subconcious talking to us. To me this can be somewhat like looking for faces in the clouds, but looking at your dream a little more perhaps there is a face. The friend in the dream, was this one we discussed yesterday?

Virus- Interesting thought, I never thought of the walk home in the dream like that, and I never made it home before I woke up :(

The person in the dream was not the same person who we were discussing yesterday, although he did used to hang out with us when we were young kids and we knew him up until a few years ago, and he may still know and talk to him because they live less than a five minute walk away from each other. The kid in my dream was somebody we both grew up with but I havent seen him for about 4 years now at least.

What fascinates me now, is what you said about the long never ending walk home, it makes sense...... That is weird. But I never made it home, I hope that isint a sign to me! Maybe I would have made it home if I wasnt such a crappy sleeper? lol

Dreams are fascinating and it definatly has something to do with putting bits and pieces of our lives or things we have done or seen back into our memory, if we remember our dreams..... Sometimes I have no memory of them even after I know I had a dream. Other times it is so vivid it seems like reality until I wake up with a palpitating heart and breathe a sigh of relief that it wasnt reality.

PS- Those Malaria meds sound crazy! I wonder if using drugs/alcohol for a long time and than suddenly stopping can cause these dreams to come back and be so lifelike. I cant remember the last time I had dreams like I have been having for the last 2 weeks.

Rich, do not get dicouraged... it was just a dream, but it may be showing some of your anxeities of the difficult road you know you have ahead. You seem to be a fairly bright fellow and I can only imagine where your intelligence might fall if measured. Has it? I'm sure the drugs haven't been kind to your brain (I think of the ice-cream scoop stories I always hear told) but you still are smart enough you need to get off the junk, wise enough to know it's difficult, and shrewd enough to put your self into somewhat of an isolation to assist in your growth. How was the day? No sickness, hopefully.

I fully agree with the surmise being more politicians are sociopathic than not.

Not to attack Mitt's religious viewpoint and faith (my own parental units are LDS) but I found some interesting tidbits on-line:

This guy compared the Book of Mormon, in a way, like the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, just a creative fantasy, but not as well written as Tolkien's.

As that writer notes obedience is stressed and believed highly in that faith, it's difficult to think of a true sociopath embracing wearing the 'magic underpants' and adhering to all the rigid tenants of the cult/faith, but this blogger has a different rationale and he agrees with M.E. that Mitt likely a full-on Sociopath.

Then there's the case of David Twede, whom my parents have mentioned derisively, being brought up for 'disciplinary' actions for speaking against Mitt. Of course other reasons cited but seriously, it's just too timely.

Then there's that White Horse Prophecy Legend - my own poor deluded parental units, in an unusual evening of 'opening up' about their faith, shared during a discussion of Mitt. Their words followed this line of thinking, "White Horse Prophecy that has floated around since the time of Mormon founder Joseph Smith. It suggests that Mormons believe a time will come when the U.S. Constitution is eroding and Mormon leaders will save it and usher in a new theocracy with Mormons in charge." I read those words said in an interview given by Sue Emmett, her great-great-grandfather was Brigham Young, - you can read more Romney's Arrogance, Mormonism, and Bizarre Rituals there's also a video on that page with footage from inside a Mormon temple.

OMG OMG OMG!!!!! This Japanese dude is asexual, so he got his penis and genitals cut off, than he offered to cook them up for people to eat, each person payed $250, and a total of 71 people showed up!!!!! LOL WTF IS GOING ON IN THIS WORLD?!?!?!?!

LOL He cooked them up and served mushrooms on the side! People actually payed $250 a plate!!!! I dont know how to make those links like you do though....

But for anybody that wants to see just click the "Dick on a stick link" it is the same page I put up you just dont have to copy and paste it.......

Plus, how do you get the word out that you wanna serve your own penis and balls? And WHO are the 71 sick people who wanted to show up and witness it?!?!?! ALOT of them seemed to be japanese women, strange, very strange.........

LOL! Nice... actually you asked an open question to an open forum. A question you could easily google and find out for yourself... or go seek help and get REAL answers. Instead, you come here. Hmmm...

I am an asshole. And there are some who might say a moron; some take me all together different. You however are PROVING to be a dickheaded imbecile too lazy to do his/her own work... or trolling. If it's the latter... bring it.

I was having doubts about your job. You seem to be more extroverted than an average soldier and not very humble too. But later I noticed how you respond to personal attacks :o) and realised that you are simply insecure and unsure about yourself. It explains a lot, including your attempts to prove that no one can know what you think and other special snowflake theories* as well as why you are still here complaining about stuff. What I still don't understand is why you created many accounts here. I mean I was under pressure too, but I never thought about creating a new account.

What I like about you is that you share many interesting stories and give a lot of advices by doing that, I actually regret that I haven't read your old threads. You can be nice under right circumstances and then you can share too much :)

I also like that you have your opinion and search for answers.

Basically, now I see you as a smarter person.

* you say that you are different and then express the same ideas other people here share.

and realised that you are simply insecure and unsure about yourself. It explains a lot, including your attempts to prove that no one can know what you think and other special snowflake theories* as well as why you are still here complaining about stuff. What I still don't understand is why you created many accounts here.

Google ? Always check multiple sources. A huge amount of material you can find on the net is in error, incomplete or purposely misleading. You can even find conflicting information on a subject on the same site. Take an example, record checks, you want accurate information. I know a fellow who got busted for possession of weed. The charge was later dropped and refiled on another passenger. Internet record check still shows him arrested for an ounce of weed 8 years later. That it was dropped never got listed. Moral of the story. Check a reliable source, not the internet!

I can respect that Mee. Not so sure how insecure I am, but I will take it into perspective. I would like to elaborate on a few things though:

"you say that you are different and then express the same ideas other people here share"

When I said this I was generally speaking about 95%+ people I have met, meet, or deal with on a regular basis. I find a person or two who share some thoughts I have, but very very few; and usually I never get the chance to converse with them as freely as here. When I do meet someone I think might be of a "kindred spirit" I usually skirt around topics to feel them out as to how they "feel" concerning things like "good and bad/evil" or "right and wrong", or how they relate to others... but "masks" stay up.

As for no one knowing what I think... you can never KNOW what goes on in another person's head. You can speculate, but then you run the risk of projection.

All the accounts? I'm a paranoid narcissistic ass. Logic told me to be careful with this site, but as I hung around I realized whatever damage could be done to me was miniscule. I learned by being open I was taking most everyone's ability away to hurt me in any type of fashion. Should anyone in my life hear the voice I have spoken here I really could care less now. I am my own man and those who don't like this can kiss my...

I did young lady, I did. Surrender, reaching out for a life line... I know this is something that works for some(or at least seems to in their perspective). I have no use for religion but I am trying not to poo-poo on those who do. Your faith is your bedrock, your foundation. When I see someones base shaking I am usually compelled to shake it until it crumbles for pure amusement... but you are a solid person and I respect that, even if I don't agree with your ideologies.

I did want to be a part of this little gang. I found this site humorous, engaging, and insightful. Many here seem to be much smarter than the crews I am forced to interact with on a daily basis. Perhaps not, but they play a good part.

I consider myself to be slightly paranoid, once I thought that my grandmother wanted to kill me because she was walking through corridor near my room at night, even though I knew that it won't happen I left it as a posibility and went back to sleep, woke up healthy and a bit disappoined...But no one here (including me) did what you did. So please elaborate your paranoia :)

I'm curious what Trump is going to reveal to the world tomorrow about obama. And did others see the photo that theliberal yahoo put online today? Really - you have to see it! Honestly, I hope obama is creamed by.......anyone!

I give you my personal opinion: I value empathy in leaders very much. A society can't be guided as if this world was a perfect machinery, and you need some strong moral guidelines to provide people with a framework. People develope themself better in an empathetic environment. Without moral or emotions a society will tend to chaos. Even as animals, human beings can only be at their best once out of the jungle, so to speak.

"“Mitt Romney has the facial expressions of someone who cares about me.”"

Are you kidding me? Have you ever watched Romney? He has one forced pleasant face. No one with actual empathy + any amount of intelligence would believe his facial expressions are anything more than something he's forced to do for appearances. Ugh.

I thought the most interesting thing was watching Mitt put on his frozen fake expression aside Obama trying to cover his microexpressions. The daggers in his eyes he could not hide. Because of this, Obama looked trapped and impotent to me.

Yeah it's pretty clear to me Romney does not like Obama, his smile around Obama is largely forced. Obama is constantly dehumanizing him, taking childish stabs and Obama's people label him out of touch because he's rich.Cuz rich people have too much money for problems or "feels".

I'm not thinking Romney is a sociopath though, I live in the u.s. and watch him speak and debate, moreso pragmatic. Trying to appeal to people, being empathetic is really tiring. Hasn't anyone ever heard of being emotionally drained or exhausted?

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Of course, my default is still to intuitively analyze every outcome and situation and achieve the best result, but it's more interesting to let people remain a variable and go in their own direction, rather than nudging them in the direction I prefer. Interacting with people WITHOUT trying to control them is a new paradigm for me.